Traffic overwhelmingly was the main concern, as the proposed casino would be built across from the Massachusetts Turnpike exit 8 interchange on Route 32, an area considered congested now.
PALMER — They wanted to hear the good and the bad associated with a casino, and they got it.
The non-profit Partners for a Healthier Community held a community health assessment Thursday night at Pathfinder Regional Vocational Technical High School to consider health and quality of life issues associated with casinos. They asked the dozen residents in attendance to outline their concerns, both positive and negative, so the findings can be delivered to the Massachusetts Gaming Commission in November.
"We want to get a whole picture of what this is going to look like," Katheen L. Szegda, project manager of the health assessments for Partners for a Healthier Community, said.
Traffic overwhelmingly was the main concern, as the proposed Mohegan Sun Massachusetts resort casino would be built across from the Massachusetts Turnpike exit 8 interchange on Route 32, an area considered congested now. That was followed by increased jobs (a positive) and effects on families such as addiction problems and domestic violence (negatives).
Gerald L. Chudy, owner of Chudy Oil in Three Rivers, said he sees some positive health impacts associated with a casino, namely people having jobs and "not being stressed out about not having a job."
Chudy said he's concerned about the lack of jobs now for high school and college graduates. He said it seems there is a "brain drain" in Western Massachusetts with young adults leaving the area in search of good-paying jobs.
Lawrence G. Dixon hears from residents about potential health impacts from a casino at a forum Thursday in Palmer. Two more health assessments will be held in West Springfield and Springfield, communities where casinos also are being proposed – on dates yet to be determined. A forum slated for Monday in West Springfield has been cancelled, Szegda said. She said that this is the only region in the commonwealth undertaking an examination of health impacts.
Partners for a Healthier Community will not make a recommendation as to which casino operator should be selected, Szegda said. Additional meetings may be held and a survey also may be developed.
The forum was not meant to debate the merits of casino gambling, although a few residents made their negative views known.
In attendance were Iris L. Cardin and Charlotte Burns, co-presidents of Quaboag Valley Against Casinos, as well as Jennifer L. Baruffaldi, spokeswoman for the pro-casino group Citizens for Jobs and Growth in Palmer, and Peter J. Schultz, Mohegan Sun Massachusetts' project coordinator.
Cardin called casinos "unhealthy" and said they ruin families. She expressed concerns about traffic and increased pollution from a casino, as did Burns.
Contractor Lawrence G. Dixon, who is working with Partners for a Healthier Community on the assessments, explained that they could make recommendations to social service agencies, or the gaming commission itself, regarding their findings.
Szegda said they received a $75,000 grant for the health impact project, which is a collaboration from the Pew Charitable Trust and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Casino licenses are expected to be awarded in February.
The answers to some concerns cited by residents are not known – will property values rise or fall with a casino?; will existing businesses be driven out?; will there be a drain on town services?; will Mohegan have its own emergency response team on site?
At-large Town Councilor Paul E. Burns, who is serving on the health assessment committee with Palmer Health Agent Joshua Mathieu, who also was in attendance, said Palmer is looking at holding a vote on the casino question in September or October. A host community agreement between Mohegan and the town is expected to be inked in July, which will include specifics on mitigation.
Paul Burns, no relation to Charlotte, said he sees potential improvements in public safety if a casino comes to town, such as a full-time fire department for the first time in town history.